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Lincoln is elected
Abraham Lincoln is elected sixteenth president of the United States, the first Republican president in the nation who represents a party that opposes the spread of slavery in the territories of the United States. His victory is a narrow one -
South Carolina secedes.
December 20, 1860- South Carolina secedes from the Union.By the end of January, six other states (Texas, Louisiana, Georgia Mississippi , Alabama and Florida) have seceded. -
Lincoln is inaugurated.
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the sixteenth president of the United States in Washington, DC. His first inaugural address seeks to address the problem of "unlawful" secession. -
South Carolina Fires on Ft. Sumter.
Southern forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Civil War has formally begun. -
The Battle of Bull Run
- The Battle of Bull Run is fought near Manassas, Virginia. The Union Army under General Irwin McDowell initially succeeds in driving back Confederate forces under General Pierre Gustav Toussant Beauregard, but the arrival of troops under General Joseph E. Johnston initiates a series of reverses that sends McDowell's army in a panicked retreat to the defenses of Washington.
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Lee Assumes Command
June 1, 1862- During the Battle of Seven Pines near Richmond, Virginia, General Joseph Johnston, commander of the Confederate army in Virginia is wounded and replaced by Robert E. Lee who renames his command the "Army of Northern Virginia" -
The Battle of Antietam
September 17, 1862- The Battle of Antietam Maryland, the bloodiest single day of the Civil War. The result of the battle ends General Lee's first invasion of the North. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation which will go into place on 1 January, 1863. Applauded by many abolitionists including Frederick Douglass, there are others who feel it does not go far enough to totally abolish slavery. -
The Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Army of the Potomac, under General Ambrose Burnside, is soundly defeated by Lee's forces after a risky river crossing and sacking of the city. -
Massachusetts 54th Colored Regiment is formed
Governor John A. Andrew issued the Civil War’s first official call for black soldiers in Boston, MA. More than 1,000 men responded. They formed the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first black regiment to be raised in the North. Black soldiers were critical to the North's war effort for the remainder of the war. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
July 1-- 3 The Battle of Gettysburg,Gettysburg Pennsylvania. The bloodiest battle of the Civil War dashes Robert E. Lee's hopes for a successful invasion of the North. -
Vicksburg surrenders.
Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrenders to the Union Army under Ulysses S. Grant. The capture of Vicksburg gives the Union complete control of the Mississippi River, a vital supply line for the Confederate states in the west. At Gettysburg, Lee begins his retreat to Virginia. -
Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address
Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the military cemetery. -
Grant takes Charge
March 2, 1864- Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general, a rank revived at the request of President Lincoln. Grant assumes command of all Union Armies in the field the following day -
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Grant's Overland Campaign
The Overland Campaign, some 40 days of maneuver and combat in Northern Virginia pitted the Civil War’s premier generals — Lt. Gen Ulysses S. Grant for the Union, and Gen. Robert E. Lee for the Confederacy — against one another in a grueling contest of endurance and guile. -
Sherman captures Atlanta
Sherman captures the Confederate supply center of Atlanta, Georgia. Sherman's stunning victory helped Lincoln overcome George McClellan in the 1864 presidential election. On November 12th, Sherman evacuates the citizens from Atlanta and burns the city and begins his epic March to the Sea -
13th Amendment is passed
The 13th Amendment was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States. The initial passage of the bill was due in large part to the heroic work of President Lincoln -
Richmond falls to Grant
The Fall of Petersburg and Richmond. General Lee abandons both cities and moves his army west in hopes of joining Confederate forces under General Johnston in North Carolina. -
Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
After months of retreat and poor rations, the ragged remains of Lee's once proud Army of Northern Virginia surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse Virginia on Palm Sunday. -
Lincoln is assasinated
Lincoln is assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth while attending a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC -
Joshua Lawerence Chamberlain Dies
Joshua Lawerence Chamberlain, hero of Little Roundtop, President of Bowdoin College and Governor of Maine dies. He is the last known Civil War veteran to die from his wounds -
Last Union Veteran Dies
Albert Woolson of Duluth, Minnesota the last surviving member of the Union Army, -
Last Confederate Veteran Dies.
Walter Washington Williams passes away at age 105 in Houston Texas. -
Last Union Widow dies
Gertrude Janeway, last known Union widow dies January 17, 2003. -
Last Confederate widow dies
Maudie Hopkins, the last known Confederate widow dies in Lexa Arkansas.
